Proposed Birdforum/Artforum fieldtrip... (1 Viewer)

Thanks Paschalis - that's an excellent contribution. we'll see which other destinations get suggested and then draw up some sort of shortlist for a vote. I've never been to Bulgaria, but I know it to be a wonderful country with special wildlife. I'd be happy to go there.

Okay, after a bit of thought, my five suggested destinations....

1. NE Mallorca; Albufureta/S'Albufera Marshes for waders,herons and passerines. Tramuntara mountains for Raptors and Passerines and the Formentor Peninsula for star of the show, Eleonoras Falcon, along with migrants....relatively cheap, though a bit of transportation needed. Late May.

2. Bulgaria; Mentioned already interestingly. Rhodope mountains for Wallcreeper/Raptors/Vultures. Black Sea coast outstanding for a wide range of species, huge migration route with a lot of eastern specialities. Burgas wetlands for White Pelicans, Herons and a host of waders and wildfowl.... Autumn best. Also cheap as chips once there, though a little local knowledge would be advised...a bit of travel would be required once there...

3. Spain; Gibraltar and Tarifa; apart from Barbary Macaques there is the famous spring Raptors and Storks, lots of Migrants. Seabird pelagics an option, Pilot Whales, Dolphins an added bonus. Nearby wetlands for waders, Purple Gallinule and White Headed Duck among others. Not a huge amount of travelling involved, rather cheap too. May.

4.Sweden; Oland. Raptors, Cranes and Migrants. Oland an excellent site. Chances of rarities are high. Always lots to see in a variety of habitats...

5. Cape May; New Jersey; A bit cheeky this. Spring trip for Wood Warblers and a host of Waders, Wildfowl, Gulls, Terns and god knows what else. Perhaps a little expensive to get to but once there no more travel needed and you can birdwatch from the same bed all week. A chance to use a lot of yellow and red paint! May.

Mouth-watering stuff!!!!!

Hi All!

My you've all been busy busy planning in my absence lol! Well love the idea B12, especially Bulgaria which is one of my intended destinations in 2008/9 - particularly good perhaps for raptor migration.

All locations sound great!

Didn't get a lot of painting done - can't believe I packed my back with an almost completely dried up set of travelling water colours (rock solid in tubes!), broke my reading glasses too - Duh. Anyway, will post up a few sketches and paintings in due course, some fieldnotes I've posted elsewhere (not art, definately not art!)

Hello to all wildlife artists

These days spizaetos/Paschalis told me about the idea to organize a travel somewhere in Europe(?) and to paint birds and other wildlife stuff. Now I read the latest posts about the proposed destinations.
A few words about Bulgaria:

positive:
+ the beer is cheap, nice salads
+ the accomodation is still cheap
+ a lot of biotops: mountains up to 2900m, meadows, wetlands, rocks, woods, rivers, steppe (north-east), black-sea cost
+ sunny

potential problems:
-you have to travel by car/bus
-some accomodations are very spartanic
-the best times for birdpainting are May/June (but sometimes rainy) and August/September --> very good for migration on the black-sea cost

I could imagine that the following route will be interesting:
1. day: Sofia --> landing, same day travelling to Sandanski in south west BG.
2.–3. day: trips around Sandanski, there are a lot of rocks, not to high, easy to observe
4.–5. day: Melnik, a small town 60km south from Sandanski, very good red wine! There are sandpyramids, small woods (Accipiter brevipes), small canyons
6. day: Trigrad --> wallcreeper, peregrines
7.–9. day: Madzharovo, the eastern rhodopes: this is one of my favorites. Vultures, black storkes (breeding on rocks) It's easier to list what is not there.
10.–12. day: Burgas wetlands
13.–15. day: cape Kaliakra, lake Durankulak
16.–18. day: lakes along the Danube

This is a trip I made this spring as a birdguide for german birdwatchers. The optimal size for a group is 14–16 persons.

The main problem will be the transport. It depends how many people will take part. There a possibilties to rent a bus with a driver.

If this will be in 2009 I can't predict what the costs/charges will be. This summer I had to pay for a beer 0,5L in a pub 70 Eurocent.

A friend of mine who is offering birdwatching and butterfly tours for smaller groups was a guide for Peter Partington 2 or 3 years ago. (John Busby and Dan Powell also toured with their birdpainting groups trough BG.)

neophron

P.S. on my website are a few photos I made during the spring tour: http://birdsart.de/photography/bulgaria/

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visit my blog: http://birdsart.de

Brilliant - cheers Nikolai!

potential problems:
-some accomodations are very spartanic

Quote;Neophron



Have you seen Nicks Dining Room Table.....


Thanks for the excellent info. Looks mouth watering I must say....

Some links here for interest...

http://http://www.birdwatchingbulgaria.com/

http://http://www.fatbirder.com/links_geo/europe/bulgaria.html



http://http://www.villaphiladelphia.com/birding.htm

just a quick question. Would it be possible to bring non painting partners?

kittykat23uk said:

just a quick question. Would it be possible to bring non painting partners?

Click to expand...

Dont think there should be any restrictions of any kind. Its a holiday there for all to enjoy. Might be fair to warn there might be a bit of travelling involved. Also might be the odd glass of red wine involved too, perhaps even a little scotch or two



(As long as he can identify Imperial Eagle and brings a pencil thats fine!)

LOL

Just to clarify - from my point of view - me and the family will be on our hols - painting will be a welcome and occasional distraction from sulking, fighting and moaning (well enough about me and Sally!).

Ok sounds great!

Not an artist myself (don't I wish!) but I have been to Bulgaria and I have lived in northeast Spain for 20 years. Personally I think Bulgaria is great for birding and the opportunities for painting or drawing birds are excellent: so many species which are uncommon in western Europe (read Roller, Lesser Grey Shrike, Red-backed Shrike, woodpeckers, etc.) are relatively common and easy to see in the right parts of Bulgaria in the spring.
I would be tempted to mention Norway and the Varanger peninsula, the area is aesthetically amazing and there is so much life on the sea and the tundra in the spring (late May/June). However, it is not at all cheap, and the weather can be a serious impediment to birding at times, let alone drawing!

If anyone's interested they can download a couple of trip reports (one i Spanish with photos and one in English) at the web site
http://www.birdinginspain.com

Hi,

I have a question: How many members from the birdforum would take part for a potential sketch trip to BG? Or should I ask this question after 6 months? I think that the group should be maximum 14 persons. Do you think, that one or two landscape painters could also took part? BG offer a lot different landscapes.

neophron

I imagine around that number of people would be fine, and I agree with what was said before - all inclusive, whether they have the sketching talent of Lars Jonsson or my mother, everybody is welcome.

nickderry said:

I imagine around that number of people would be fine, and I agree with what was said before - all inclusive, whether they have the sketching talent of Lars Jonsson or my mother, everybody is welcome.

Click to expand...

I might even bring my mother!

So every one, are we still on the short list or has everyone basicly
plumped for Bulgaria?

Still have a hankering for Mallorca though..!

Still head scratching:h?:

I don't think that any 'official' decision has been made as of yet. I think we'll have to do some sort of vote soon. All places are very tempting to somebody who has had only mallards to sketch all day.

I quite fancy going somewhere where that doesn't involve alot of travelling every day if I don't want too. Somewhere where there are still things to see if you get up late and want to stay put while others go off galavanting. Must be something to do with my age

I'd say other alternatives ought to be explored (it's not like any bookings are needing to be made, anyway). Chuck some other ideas into the pot and see what comes out. I just want somewhere that doesn't consider 14 degrees as a 'hot day'.
Sangria, Sambuca or schnapps - it's all the same to me!!!!!

Hi guys,

may be next year I will attend a birdwatching trip trough BG as a guide. I will try to gather all important informations about the hotels (price, rooms, food, locations) in the regions. So at the end I hope to get a rough price for a potential trip to BG (without flight). I think it makes more sense if we can compare the different trip destinations if there is also a price comparison. This is an important point, IMHO.

greetings, neophron